Learning pull-ups made easy: the step-by-step plan to your first pull-up

The pull-up is considered the supreme discipline of bodyweight training. It is the ultimate proof of relative strength – the ability to move your own body weight in a controlled way. Yet for many fitness enthusiasts, whether beginners or advanced, this one pull-up seems to be an unattainable goal.

The good news is: anyone can learn to do pull-ups. Failure usually isn't down to a lack of strength, but to the wrong approach. Anyone who simply hangs from the bar and pulls will quickly give up in frustration. In this blog post we show you a logical, systematic step-by-step plan that will get you to your first free pull-up for sure.

Which muscles do you need for a pull-up?

Before we get into the practice, you need to know which muscles actually work. A pull-up is a complex compound exercise that engages almost the entire upper body:

• The broad back muscle (latissimus dorsi): The main player, responsible for pulling the arms down and back.
• The arm flexors (biceps and brachialis): They significantly support the back in bending the elbow.
• The core musculature (core): An often forgotten part. Without a firmly braced core you swing back and forth and lose an enormous amount of strength.
• The forearms (grip strength): Anyone who can't hold the bar can't pull themselves up either.

The step-by-step plan to your first pull-up

Don't try to take the second step before the first. Master each of the following stages before moving on to the next.

Stage 1: the dead hang (active hang)

It all starts with grip strength and getting used to your own body weight.

• Execution: Hang from the pull-up bar. Keep your arms straight, but build tension in the shoulders (pull them slightly down, away from your ears).
• Goal: You should be able to hold onto the bar in a controlled and pain-free way for 30 to 60 seconds.

Stage 2: scapula pull-ups (shoulder-blade pull-ups)

Here you get to know the very first movement of a pull-up – activating the shoulder blades.

• Execution: Hang from the bar (as in stage 1). Keep your arms completely straight. Now pull only your shoulder blades down and together. Your body rises by a few centimetres as a result. Let yourself sink back down in a controlled way.
• Goal: 3 sets of 10 to 12 clean repetitions.

Stage 3: australian pull-ups (bodyweight rows)

Now we build up horizontal pulling strength.

• Execution: Find a hip-height bar (for example in a squat rack or on a multi-press machine) or use gymnastic rings. Hang under the bar, keep your feet on the floor, the body forms a straight line. Now pull your chest towards the bar.
• Goal: 3 sets of 10 to 15 repetitions. If it gets too easy, place your feet elevated on a bench or box.

Stage 4: negative pull-ups (the eccentric phase)

We're almost there. With negative pull-ups you use the fact that we are considerably stronger when lowering a weight than when lifting it.

• Execution: Stand on a box or chair under the bar. Jump up so that your chin is above the bar. Hold this position for a second. Now lower yourself as slowly and controlled as possible (counting to five) until your arms are completely straight.
• Goal: 3 sets of 5 to 8 extremely slow repetitions.

Stage 5: pull-ups with a resistance band

The band takes some body weight off you in the lowest part of the movement (where it's hardest).

• Execution: Attach a long resistance band to the bar and step into it with one foot or knee. Now perform the complete pull-up. Make sure your core stays firm.
• Progression: Gradually switch to thinner and thinner bands until you only need a very light band.

Typical mistakes you must avoid

Mistake

Why it's problematic

The solution

Half repetitions

You're not training over the full range of motion and you miss out on building strength in the lowest position.

Always start from the fully extended, hanging arm and pull until your chin is above the bar.

Swinging (kipping)

By flailing your legs you take the load off the back muscles. It becomes more of a momentum exercise than pure strength training.

Firmly tense your glutes and core and keep your legs straight and slightly in front of the body.

Grip too wide

An extremely wide grip shortens the range of movement, but exposes the shoulders to an unnatural and injury-prone strain.

Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder width in an overhand grip (back of the hand facing you).

Conclusion: patience is the key

You don't learn pull-ups in one afternoon. Your body not only has to build strength, but also perfect the interplay of the muscles (intermuscular coordination). Train the pull-up once or twice a week at the start of your workout, when you're still fresh. Celebrate every small bit of progress – whether it's one more second in the dead hang or switching to a thinner resistance band. Before you know it, you'll pull your first free pull-up, and the feeling will be amazing!

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